Howling Star II: The Search for a Storm
by Shadow Strabi-star22
Summary: Sequel to Howling Star: Dance in the Shadow of Light. Lightning is gone and everyone believes that she died but Serah doesn't. The only ones who believe in her is a guy named Noel Kreiss, a Moogle named Mog and Star, the werewolf who befriended Light before her disappearance. Together they will travel through time in an attempt to find Lightning without getting killed by Caius.
1. Prologue

**A/N**: Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying your summer. Happy (super late) 4th of July as well, I actually planned to post this piece on the 4th but you know...life, what can you do? Anyways, that's enough out of me and I'll let you read to your heart's content. _Howling Star II: The Search for a Storm_ begins now.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. FFXIII-2 belongs to Square Enix.

**Bold words**: Lightning's narration.

_Italic words_: Thoughts

* * *

**Prologue**

**That time was lost, yet time continued onward.**

The faint ring of a bell chimed over the gloomy skies of Valhalla, its resonance bears no fragility that awaits the impeccable doom and a nonexistent future. The throne of the goddess Etro stood bare and naked as angel feathers fell from the skies to dance in the pure essence of the maker.

**Divine Etro. Go peacefully to your rest. I will stand guard over your legacy**_**. **_Lightning knelt silently in front of the throne, her soldier attire discarded to make room for the appearance of a knight in shiny armor. Placing a hand over her heart in a silent gesture of acknowledgment to Etro's wishes, she rose slowly and walked calmly out, her own feather accessory attached to her waist flowed freely behind her. The sound of her boots clopped gracefully against the granite floor as she leaned against the railing of the balcony, looking out over the city, the sound of a bell ringing reached her ears.

**This endless realm is awash with sadness. Life and death lose all meaning under the rolling waves of chaos. Valhalla. The currents of time do not touch its shore. **Lightning's eyes swept across the shores where the presence of a time and space barrier kept the waves at bay. **In this world of lost moments, I begin my life anew.**

Far out from the shore, a tall, slender, and muscular man with light bronze skin and purple eyes gently waded in waist deep into the water. He has long purple hair adorned with feathers and tribal beads, and he wears a long, purple and black headband. In his arms he cradled a young girl. Looking around for a bit, he gently lowered her into the water, watching the pale skin underneath the water's surface.

"This eternity–it was never your desire. Is that not so, Yeul?" The man spoke as the girl named Yeul dissolved away. Clenching his fist with anger he imagined the destruction of Cocoon, the cracking of the ice pillar and finally Valhalla. Lifting his arms over his head, he summoned his army of Pantopodas and other Rift Beasts before feasting his eyes on the tower. A bunch of wyverns rose into the skies, along with their fellow creatures that inhabited the vicinity.

"Warrior goddess." The man sneered as he drew his blade, the eye at the base opening up to unleashed a purple aura. "Now we cross swords." In response, Lightning drew her own blade, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the threat in front. All around, the creatures that joined and fought from the goddess clashed violently against the man's army of bugs.

"Lose yourself in battle, and rejoice!" Moving his arm in a wide arc, he sent a purple-colored slash that knocked back some of Lightning's army. Two replicas of the Shiva Sisters quickly flew down and bombarded the man with a freeze attack. Thinking they had the upper hand, they dove back for a finishing touch only to be blown away by the man's power. Grinning, he noticed Lightning on top of Odin's back with her blade drawn.

"Husk of the wandering comet...I summon thee!" Pointing his sword to the sky, he unraveled a monstrous power that upturned the earth. Odin whinnied with annoyance while Lightning looked at the falling meteors. It looked as though those bugs were disposable units. Clutching her teeth, she spurred Odin into a full gallop, jumping from rock to rock. One of the meteors collided where she was and her blade flew through the air, embedding itself into another rock. Using the underbelly of another rock for momentum, she jumped, gripped her blade and launched herself to where the man was.

"Caius Ballad!" She yelled, blocked his attack and sent it straight up. Caius's own attack shattered the meteor spell at once.

"Impressive." Caius said as Lightning landed in a crouch behind him.

"Save it." She snapped before they were at each other again, their blades created sparks that danced across their eyes. As the rock formation crumbled underneath their feet, they were forced to do some rock hopping.

"Let's end this." Caius caught Lightning's blade as she moved to stab him and pointed it to his heart which glowed in response.

"That glow...?!" Lightning backed up, narrowing her eyes.

"Cast your shadow over all." Caius's eyes started to glow as he chanted. "Wings of night!" A dark cloud shrouded his transformation and once it was done, he wasn't a human anymore. He became Chaos Bahamut and with a swipe of both his claws, he sent Lightning flying over Valhalla.

"Odin!" She calls for her mighty steed and he thunders over the sands, catching his master from free-falling. Together they managed to attack and defend against their flying foe, leading him back towards the heart of Valhalla. Using the steel beam structures to her advantage, Lightning somersaulted backwards and sliced the Bahamut across his back, who screeched angrily in response. Diving down behind the clouds, he appeared in front and attacked. Odin, who sensed the intention ahead of time managed to protect Lightning before he disappeared. Chaos Bahamut also disappeared and Caius himself appeared in front of Lightning. Snarling, both combatants flew at each other, their swords clashed violently.

"The goddess made a wise choice." Caius snarled, pushing a little against Lightning's blade. "Keeping up?"

"So you want to destroy everything?" Lightning asked after they broke apart, her voice sounded more like an accusation then a question.

"Oblivion is the fate of all things." Was the simple reply before they flew at each other once more. The impact of their attacks destroyed nearby steel beams and Caius used his dark magic to stop the broken pieces from falling, suspending them in a mid-air.

"I must thank you. In these final moments, I have met my finest opponent." He mused as Lightning came in with a sneak attack from behind. A barrage of punches, kicks and slashes, she managed to knock her enemy to the ground. The floating debris that were frozen in time were unfrozen and continued their descend, covering Caius's body from Lightning's eyes.

* * *

Looking down at the smoke, Lightning focused her attention on another matter. A bright light from the heavens shined down upon the tallest structure where the throne of Etro resides.

"Etro's gate?" _Of course. The one from the vision. I know your name. Noel Kreiss. _Lightning watched as a silhouette of a young man appeared, falling through the gate's opening. Opening his eyes, Noel glanced down before screaming as he plummeted towards Valhalla. Luckily Lightning caught him before he went splat.

"Where am I?" Noel asked as he held on tight. Both of them soared over Valhalla on Lightning's flying companion.

"Valhalla. You prayed for a miracle and that brought you here. Or am I wrong?"

"How did you know!?"

"From Valhalla, I can see everything."

"But, who are you?" Lightning looked at him before replying.

"Lightning." Before her passenger could reply, a screech grabbed their attention as Chaos Bahamut flew up to greet them, looking unscathed and angry.

_That son of a bitch._ Lightning inwardly groaned before she was thrown into battle against her enemy with Noel throwing in his own attacks. After what looks like a wild goose chase since Chaos Bahamut figured out their attack plans, Lightning was forced to do an emergency landing, jumping off of her ride with Noel in tow.

"How do we fight him?" Noel quickly wiped off the dust from his clothes as he asked the question.

"This is not your battle." Lightning responded after a pause. "There is something else I need you to do."

"What?"

"Bring my sister to me. Her name is Serah." Looking down, they noticed a shiny light that indicated a passage through the time line. "You'll need to use the portal. Your time-gazing friend should have told you how it works."

"That's a gate...? But, why me?"

"Because you're the only one who can." Lightning replied. "You crossed the Void and made it to Valhalla. You can find Serah, and together you can change the future."

"I can change the future?" Noel looked out, wondering if he was stuck in some fantasy dream.

"Yes." Lightning nodded before throwing up a small ball of magic.

"Kupopo~" A creature appeared and floated down in front of Noel. With a wave of his staff, he changed into a bow.

"A good luck charm. Give him to Serah." Lightning ordered as Noel looked at the weapon in surprise.

"You got it." Nodding his head in agreement, he slung the weapon over his back. "I'll track her down."

"Enjoying your little chat?" Caius found them, his eyes flashed with a murder intent.

"Get to the gate." Lightning placed herself in front of Noel, forbidding him from further actions against Caius. "I'm counting on you."

"Okay." Noel nodded before Lightning summoned Odin, using him as a power booster. The last thought she had as she used her shield to block Caius's attack was Serah. Something in the back of her mind throbbed faintly but she disregarded it as she was enveloped by a white light.

"Lightning..." Noel looked up at the sky before realizing that he might be in danger. "Gotta go." Taking a leap of faith, he reached out his hand and disappeared into the time gate and back into the time stream.

**My hopes go with you, Noel Kreiss. Become an arrow through time, and speed your way to Serah. Be there for her..because I no longer can.**

* * *

_Planet Zoralth..._

The lush environments that dot the exoskeleton of planet Zoralth offered the opportunity of life to the abundance of magnificent creatures and other life forms that are unlike any other. Deep within Lupin Meadow, the wolves were becoming restless, even in their anthro forms they knew something was off. A disgruntled old wolf hobbled to the water hole for a drink, his tongue lapping over the surface while his eyes darting around in weariness.

"Hey...Dad" Star's voice reached the old wolf's ears, causing him to stop drinking and turned to look at her as she walked over. Licking the droplets off his muzzle, he morphed into his human form and hugged his daughter. "Can I talk to you?" Her voice sounded hollow and Shadow knew deep down that this talk means business.

"If it's about how low the water is in this here pool, then yes lets talk." He sighed as he sat down, using a cane for support as his old joints slowly caught up to his age. He winced and rubbed his sides, angrily muttering "Curse this old age."

"It's not only about the water level, I just have this feeling radiating throughout the entire planet. It's quite hard to explain but I think something bad has happened on Cocoon."

"On Cocoon huh?" Shadow lifted his head to look at the sky above before speaking. "Have you heard the concept of time-traveling?"

"Dad, if you are referring to the time I was sent to Cocoon then yes I know. What does that have to do with the fact that there might be something evil looming over us?"

"What if something happened in Cocoon and in parallel Zoralth gets effected as well? For example, if there was a drought on Cocoon, we would see the sign of drought as well because we live in a parallel universe billions of miles away right? However I don't see any sign of a drought...there is another factor missing, the winds have stopped blowing and there aren't many clouds in the sky. I'm sure you must know what I mean."

"I think I do." Star sighed and looked up at the sapphire sky for a minute. Her mind flashed back to a certain strawberry-blonde haired soldier and she frowned a bit. Shadow, catching the scent of worry from his daughter looked at her.

"Thinking about that friend of yours? The one you dubbed Lightning?"

"You're still sharp even in old age. Yeah, it's her."

"She left a hard print on you, I'm glad your bond with her is stronger than others."

"...that's the problem. The nagging in the back of my mind is as faint as a baby's breathe. It's quite faint but still pulsing."

"Then you should prepare yourself for the worst child. The world we live in now...even the ones we deem alive will turn up as an illusion created by the shadows of our nature." Shadow grunted as he got up and started to hobble away with his cane as the other members trotted over to the water hole for a drink, dipping their heads in obedience to the leader. Nodding curtly to her fellow members, Star took off running to her favorite spot, a towering rock formation that faced outward towards the horizon. Climbing up to the top, she pulled her legs close to her chest as she watched the sky lazily with one eye open.

_We haven't had any substantial rainfall in quite a few weeks even though food is abundant. Sooner or later, we will have to share the watering hole with other creatures but there isn't enough to go around. The signs are very clear to me...without the storm clouds, rain chances are slim and every living creature will begin to dehydrate till they are nothing but skin and bones. There is one thing that must be done..._Star sighed before getting up, brushing the grass off of her pants.

_The search for a storm has begun. _

* * *

**A/N**: Done, I hoped you enjoyed it. A little long for a prologue huh? Lol I hope it'll suffice for the lack of timing on my end.


	2. Chapter 1: A world without Cocoon

**A/N**: Chapter 1 of _Howling Star II: The Search for a Storm_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my own. FFXIII-2 belongs to Square Enix.

**Bold words**: Lightning's narration

_Italic words_: Character's thoughts

Special thanks for the reviewers, I truly appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A world without Cocoon.**

_Serah's POV..._

**Time flows without pause. In a world I no longer exist, the future is about to change**. From the sky a giant crystal meteor started to descend slowly across the sky of New Bodhum. **Serah. The truth still survives. But only you remember it.** Inside a small beach adobe, whimpering could be heard as flashes of the battle from Valhalla danced across my mind.

"Lightning..." I gasped out, my eyes still shut as I experienced this nightmare. The last image I saw was her against this man named Caius and I opened my eyes. "She was fighting. I guess it was just a dream." Outside the meteor inched closer and closer. The air felt weird around me as fragments of time swirled around, changing my normal clothing to that of a revealing, form-fitting dress of white, reddish-pink, and gold.

"Such a strange dream." I muttered to myself, still dozing off on the bed until a loud kaboom sounded outside. I sat up immediately and looked around before my eyes caught the difference of my attire.

"Where did these clothes come from?" I looked at the white top, pink sections on the front and back connecting the top to the skirt over black shorts, the cut-out sides at the waist and the crisscrossing pink straps on the sides of my were two straps that went over my shoulders into a cross-back shape, a storage pack on my right hip that hangs from the waist, pink and black thigh-high leggings, and purple ankle boots.

_At least I still retain my earrings and engagement necklace. This pink choker is pretty cute; short pink sleeves under gray gloves, and two gold armbands, one on each arm...where in the world did these things come from? _Hearing screaming from residents from the outside jerked me from my thoughts and I quickly grabbed some items and trotted out. Suddenly a bright light blinded me and the sound of a bell ringing reached my ears.

"What's happening?" I asked to no one in particular. All around, the beach was replaced with something more depressing, less energetic. Not a soul in sight as a replica of Valhalla was created through this distortion of time. I muddled around, confused and alone. _Did I die? How did I die? If I'm dead, then maybe I can find Lightning. _Tears were about to fall when I was abruptly pulled out of my dilemma. Now I'm back on the beach of New Bodum and I was hit by some unknown force, my eye caught this glimmer of what looked like a symbol before a body dropped near my feet dead. Residents and even creatures that lived by were fighting against the swarm of bugs and I was caught right in the middle.

"Gadot!" I shouted as I saw the man. Gadot was Snow's friend and a member of NORA, built with a lot of muscles and has orange-colored hair.

"Serah, come on!" He responded to my call.

"Everyone this way." Yuji, Gadot's blue-haired friend waves for the rest of the NORA crew and they took off running for the mountains where this giant monster came out of the fabrication of the timeline.

"What is _that_!?" Maqui exclaimed as the others backed up and stood there ground. I rushed over to help but a bug got in my way. Without a weapon to defend myself with, I backed up, my boot caught the body of a dead man and I tumbled backwards onto my rear end. Seeing the bug about to dive in, I raised my arm in hopes of a shield and yelled, "Lightning, help me!" The sound of a gun rattling off impaled the bug's body multiple times before it exploded, literally in my face. I turned to see the bar tender Lebreau running toward me.

"Get a hold of yourself!" She snarled, gripping my wrist hard and glaring into my eyes. "Lightning can't protect you anymore. You have to look after yourself now. Do you hear me? Your sister's dead. She can't help you!" Before I could reply to her, she was attacked by another bug. Sounds of arrows whistled through the air and impaled themselves against my attacker.

"You want her?" A voice clearly rang out above my head. "Then you're gonna have to go through me!" I looked up as a young man leaped off his perch and landed in front of me.

"Get up Serah." He spoke.

"You were in my dream." I replied, looking at him. "I saw you."

"Save it for later." He held out his hand, offering me the bow. "Can you fight?"

"If I have to..." I gripped the bow hesitantly, giving him a pleading look.

"You're gonna have to. One more thing..." He drew out his blades and got into a fighting stance. Don't ever lay down and wait to die!"

* * *

The battle didn't last as long as I anticipated. I still couldn't believe I was in a fight, it still felt like a dream. I occasionally pinched my own arm until my eyes watered to make sure I wasn't asleep.

"Hey Serah." I turned my watery eyes to see Maqui looking at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I smiled faintly until the boy was called.

"Gotta go." He smiled at me and trotted away with a gun in his hand. I nodded but got a little curious about what they were doing. Dismissing my curiosity, I quickly made my way over to where Lebreau laid on the ground with the young man by her side. A small group of the survivors gathered around before Gadot raised his hand for silence.

"All right, everyone, listen up. The meteorite hit over there. We're gonna check it out."

"Team Yuj ready to roll."

"And careful. That area's crawling with monsters." Maqui pipped up.

"So stay close. C'mon." Taking the lead, Gadot lead the group away towards the site in the mountains.

"You're gonna be okay." I brushed Lebreau's hair lightly away from her forehead. She weakly mumbled some incoherent words but her eyes were still closed.

"She took a hit, but she's gonna be fine. She just needs some rest."

"Thank goodness." I sighed with release before confronting my savior. "And thank you. Whoever you are."

"Noel. Noel Kreiss." He introduced himself.

"Okay." I gave him a skeptical eye.

"And before I forget...it wasn't just me. You should probably thank this little guy too." He pointed at the bow in my hand. I gasped as it glowed brightly. The bow was replaced by a cute creature.

"Tada! Kupo~" The creature spoke as he flew down to me.

"Wow. Is that a toy moogle?" I laughed as I reached out a hand to touch him.

"He's supposed to be your lucky charm. Your sister gave him to me."

"Wait.." I grabbed the Moogle and squished him against my chest without realized it. "You know Lightning!?"

"She's the one who told me to come here." Noel explained.

"Where? Where did you see her?" I persuaded with my interrogation, oblivious to the squirming moogle in my arms. "Was it...Valhalla?"

"Yeah. How'd you guess?" He asked with surprise.

"I saw it in a dream." I looked at the beach, releasing the moogle from my arms. "I saw my sister. She gave you the moogle. Then the meteorite came..."

"...and dragged me along with it. I guess."

"Do you mean, you actually rode here on that meteorite?" I looked at him with excitement in my voice.

"Maybe, I don't know." He looked away. "Damned if I can remember. Why don't we go and check it out?" I nodded and followed him.

_Now I know for sure. Lightning is alive. She's in a place called Valhalla. I'd only just met Noel, but I believed him. I believed every word he said. Even though it couldn't possibly be true. It seems like only yesterday. The smile on Lightning's face when she gave her blessing for Snow and me to get married. But I'm the only one who ever remembered that. No one believes. It's just a dream, they say, from when I slept in the crystal. An illusion. They say my sister is gone. That three years ago, she sacrificed herself to stop the fall of Cocoon. She turned into the crystal pillar that holds Cocoon above the surface of Pulse, and saved both worlds. That's what they say. But even so... _

* * *

_Noel's POV..._

I met Serah just as Lightning requested and she started to ask me a ton of questions as we continued our quest to where the meteorite fell.

"I'm a hunter." I replied to one of her many questions.

"I still need to ask you more. Do you mind?"

"Fire away." I led her down the beach so that we would have more of a private conversation.

"Tell me more about Valhalla."

"I don't know much of it myself." I frowned. "It's not like I lived there or anything. The legends say it lies at the end of time, in the distant future; that it's the realm of the dead."

"The realm of the dead?" Serah looked worried. "Does that mean Lightning is out of my reach for good?" She turned away and took off towards the site where the meteorite landed. I followed her down the dirt path before my eyes feasted upon the beautiful site of Cocoon in the sky.

"You look a little shaken there, Noel." Serah's voice spoke right behind me. I scoffed, trying to look brave in front of her but I decided to be honest.

"That obvious, huh? I thought I knew what to expect. Being thrown into a world you don't understand is a lot more terrifying than I imagined."

"I'm not sure I get what you mean."

"I mean what I said." was my reply before we continued walking. Along the way, we ran into Gadot.

"Serah! Still in one piece?" He nodded and inclined his head towards the path. "We're seein' lots of unfriendly critters around that meteorite." He finally spots me. "Oho...who's this?" I looked over as Serah introduced me.

"This is Noel. He helped Lebreau and me out of a tight spot."

"Is that right?" He looked me straight in the eyes and his demeanor showed that he means business. "I'm Gadot!"

"Okay, take it easy, big guy." I replied as nicely as possible. "I am not here to make trouble for anyone."

"You better not. Anything happens to Serah and the boss'll string your carcass out to dry."

"The boss?" I walked up to him. "Who's that?"

"He ain't here right now!" was his final reply before he briskly ran off. I looked at his retreating figure before Serah tugged on my clothing as we continued running along the path.

* * *

_Serah's POV..._

After talking to Gadot, Noel and I ran into the rest of the NORA members.

"Oh, hey, Yuj." I spoke as the blue-haired man approached.

"Hey. So, this is the famous Noel, huh?" He gave Noel a smile.

"News travels fast."

"Lebreau told me how you helped her out." Yuj explained. "I'm Yuj, nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"What's with the new stylin' threads, Serah?" He turned his attention back on me. "Not exactly a 'dress up and hit the town' kind of occasion."

"You wanna try them on?" I teased him. "They might look better on you!"

"I don't think so." Yuj couldn't keep a grin off his face. "Wouldn't want to show you up or anything! I best get going now, patrol is really tight. See you guys later." He waved and rushed off to do his duty. Noel and I ran into Maqui, the last member of NORA. He was squatting near some plants, muttering to himself.

"Weird...How did these plants grow so fast? I don't get it. Must be pockets of unstable time or something."

"More meteorite phenomena?" Noel asked and the boy rose to greet us.

"You got that right. Look at this stuff! Ever since that rock came down, we've been seein' all kinds of aberrations."

"Do you have any idea what's happening?" I asked him. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

"Not the slightest clue. Some spots seem to have sped forward centuries. But other parts haven't changed at all..."

"So these areas are from different timelines. Realities blending together? Like two ages overlapping That about right?" Noel pondered while Maqui excitedly exclaimed, "Right! It's exactly like that!"

"So, is the moogle from another dimension, do you think?" I directed the question to Maqui.

"Hmmm. Well, I'd have to dismantle it to know for sure..."

"Kupokupo~!?" The moogle waved his staff in a frantic manner.

"I think he understood you." Noel laughed. "In any case, we can't go breaking Serah's good luck charm." Bidding Maqui farewell, Noel and I decided to get closure to the meteorite. As we approached, the celestial body of Cocoon vanished completely.

"Cocoon is gone." We hurried to the meteorite to find our friend Mr. Monster or Gogmagog as it is called, waiting for us. We were sent into battle against him and the fight wasn't nearly as complicated as I thought it would be. Upon destroying him, he left behind a fragment piece which are memories of time, solidified into shards. Placing it in my pouch, I quickly rushed over to examine the fallen meteorite.

"What is that place? Noel do you know?" I asked him as we looked up.

"Yeah." was his reply. The landscape looked completely barren and dead, a wasteland.

"Wait. What happened to Cocoon? It's not there."

"Well..." Noel mulled over some words before continuing. "You're looking at a different time. That's the world I come from. In my world, Cocoon doesn't exist. When I was born, the sky was already empty." He turned to me. "Tell me, how many years has it been? Since Ragnarok appeared and Cocoon fell?"

"Well, it's 3 AF. So, that was three years ago."

"For me, all that happened 700 years in the past. I was born and raised in another time. 700 years in the future."

"Yes." I turned to look at him. "I knew it. I knew you weren't from this world."

"I'm the last of humanity. I can take you there." Noel's words were starting to scare me and my heart almost stopped beating with the next words he said. "We can find Lightning together. I know she wants to see you."

"You're full of it!" Gadot arrived, shoving Noel back.

"Yeah, that's impossible!" Maqui added.

"Lightning's gone, man." Yuj said. I stormed right past and gently pushed Gadot aside so I could speak to Noel.

"Noel, do you know where my sister is?"

"Come with me." He said, grabbing my wrist and leading me to the rock. Holding out our hands, the rock began to glow as time distortion increased.

"What's happening?" I asked but no one answered me until the task was finished.

"You see? It's a Time Gate." Noel explained it to the group.

"Whaddya mean, 'Time Gate'?" Gadot asked, looking skeptical.

"It's like a portal. Lightning is in a place called Valhalla. She's waiting on the other side."

_I couldn't turn my eyes away. I knew the answer lay beyond that gate. The answer to my doubts and dreams. On the broad plain beneath Cocoon, my sister once celebrated my marriage to Snow. I remember her smile like it was yesterday. But sometime, when I wasn't looking, she disappeared. She was gone as if she'd never been there in the first place. Lightning, are you out there? Did I dream that day on Pulse, or did it really happen? Noel says he can find you. But is he telling the truth? Noel's world was a terrible place where Cocoon did not exist. He had traveled back in time to change that bleak future..or so he told us. _

* * *

_Noel's POV..._

Our sight-seeing to the Time Gate was over and we gathered back to Serah's place for a quick meeting. Serah was still in her dream-like process, thinking about what she learned today I'm guessing. Here I was, trying to explain to the rest of the people.

"Listen, when different eras overlap, all kinds of crazy stuff happens. Objects from different times get mixed up. If you want to open a gate and travel through time...you have to find one of those objects. They're called artefacts. "

"Artefacts?" Serah asked.

"The keys to the future. They're anachronisms, relics of a different world. Basically, things that don't belong in your time. If we can find one, we might be able to use it to open the gate. Then we could cross time and travel to Lightning's world." As I tried to answer a lot of questions, I could tell Serah was still in her thinking phase, I wonder what she's thinking.

_Serah's thoughts: Could Noel be telling the truth? Beyond that gate, in a place called Valhalla...is Lightning alive and waiting for me? Can I dare to hope again, after all this time? Oh, how I want to believe. I want my sister back!_


	3. Chapter 2: Searching for clues

**A/N**: Chapter 2 of _Howling Star II: The Search for a Storm_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. FFXIII-2 belongs to Square Enix.

Special thanks to the reviewers, I truly appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Searching for clues**

_Serah's POV..._

Since our meeting last night pertaining to Noel Kreiss and his timeline travels, I couldn't help but over think the situation. I awoke the next morning, stretching my arms high above my head before meeting the others. The entire NORA team ended up staying at my house for the night and as I watched them talk amongst each other, my ears picked up bits and pieces of their conversation. Apparently they were worried about Snow and berated themselves for feeling weak, except for the bartender. Lebreau always remain optimistic in dire situations such as this. Without her, everyone might just end up in despair or lose the motivation to continue.

"You were up late last night, Maqui. Big project?" I walked up to the boy, striking up a conversation. He turned, looking a little surprised at my question as he tried to come up with an excuse.

" P-project? Yeah, I was, uh, working on something for Snow." He mumbled as he scratched his head "That thing, you know." Leaving the boy to his thoughts, I moved on to the next member, Yuj.

"So, you're just taking him at his word? He says he's from the future, but where's the proof?" In a way, Yuj had some kind of stubborn, doubtful tone in his voice.

"I guess you're right. It's just hard after I had that dream about Lightning. You know what I mean?" I flashed him a small smile before confronting Gadot. The man sat there in a thinking pose until he noticed my essence.

"Hey Serah. Listen, what's the deal with you and that Noel guy, anyway?" His tone was very similar to Yuj's, just a tad bit stern and gruffer than his companion.

"If I said I was going with him, would you stop me?" I asked.

"Let you run off with some con artist?" He snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "I'd beat him half to death first." Taking a hint that he didn't want to talk to me about that subject anymore, I excused myself and darted outside. Walking outside aimlessly, I sighed before Noel ran up.

"All this talk about artefacts and gates and time travel..." I spoke calmly, "To be honest, I don't know if I'm ready to believe it."

"Serah." Noel spoke, walking into my field of vision. "There's still so much I don't understand myself. If we can actually find an artefact, then I'll know what I've been saying is true." We looked out into the sea together, our eyes stared at nothing in the distance.

"And once we open the gate, you'll be able to put some of your doubts to rest as well. So, what do you think? Will you search for the answers with me?" His eyes were back onto me, gauging the emotions flickering in my eyes. His voice was kind of hopeful and imploring a very determined face. I cast a sideways glance before catching his eyes, a certain question has been stuck within my mind for quite awhile.

"How do you know Lightning?"

"I met her for the first time in Valhalla. I thought I was done for, and when I called the goddess' name, she appeared. Is your sister some sort of deity?"

"Of course not." I replied slowly, "She became a l'Cie and turned to crystal. She did it to protect Cocoon."

"So, the Lightning I met in Valhalla is someone else then?" Noel asked the question not directly at me but most likely to himself. I noticed Marqui stomping his foot angrily on the beach, muttering some curses underneath his breath.

"I'll bet you anything it's that guy for sure. He looked totally guilty!" He turned around and stumbled back since he failed to realize my presence. "Uh I mean..." The poor guy looked really uncomfortable so I left him alone and followed the moogle. His little bobble on his head was glowing, an indicator that will help us find the artefacts. I talked to some of the NORA members to see if they have seen anything out of the ordinary but they all replied with the same answer: With the way things are, a lot of things appear out of the ordinary. Leaving the residence, I found my little friend hovering by a tree. I noticed a knife lodged within the bark and with a gasp, I realized that it was the same hunting knife I gave my sister on her twenty-first birthday.

"Is that the artefact?" Noel asked. I completely forgot about him.

"This is Lightning's knife. I keep it in my room, but how did it get out here?" My mind flashed back to the time when I first woke up from my crystal sleep.

* * *

_Flashback..._

"Look there." My past self whispered to Dajh, Sazh's son who was also contained in a crystal sleep.

"Snow!" I leaped right into his arms as he hollered my name back with enthusiasm. After we had a couple of minutes together, I pulled his arm, eagerly to greet my sister. We rushed over to where I thought she would be, but everywhere I looked, there was no Lightning.

"It's her knife." Hope's voice cut through and he held it out for me. "I found it at the base of the pillar." I took the knife tentatively, squeezing it with both hands as I looked at Snow with teary eyes.

"Serah, I'm sorry." His voice was lace with sadness as he turned to look at the crystal tower. "She must be inside the pillar. Lightning's holding up Cocoon along with Vanille and Fang."

"Wait, what are you talking about!?" I gripped his arm and he glances down into my teary eyes. "She was right here a second ago!" Walking past him, I continued, recalling the memory quite clearly. "I saw her. We talked. She gave us her blessing..." I turned to look at the others and they couldn't say anything, casting downward glances. My pent-up sadness started bubbling up my throat and I started crying.

_I won't forget that moment. Lightning was happy –happy that Snow and I were getting married. She laughed , and said, 'Congrats.' But then, all of a sudden, Lightning disappeared. She was gone, like she was never there to begin with. No one else remembered her smiling and laughing. No one but me._

_End of Flashback..._

* * *

_Noel's POV..._

"So all your friends think your sister is inside that pillar." I spoke after Serah recalled the memory. She looked down on the knife and nodded.

"I was scared. People said I was dreaming. They said...they said I was just making up stories so that I didn't have to face the truth."

"Listen Serah." I walked up to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Your memories are the truth. Lightning is alive. The question is, why are you the only one who remembers?"

"Could it be a message from Lightning?" Her face lit up at the idea.

"You mean, before she became trapped in the crystal, she was able to give you a glimpse of something...something important."

"But, what? What was she trying to tell me?" She looked at the knife. "Weird. The knife looks like it's been polished."

"Maybe someone was cleaning it out here and forgot about it." I pulled her along. "I don't thing this is our artefact, though. Let's keep looking." She nodded and we continued our search. My eyes were suddenly drawn towards a vegetable patch.

"You look surprised at our vegetable garden." She gave me a curious look. "Have you never grown vegetables before?"

"The soil is barren. Nothing will grow at all. We have to survive by hunting. It's that or starve."

"Yesterday, you said you were the last of humanity. What did you mean?"

"Just what I said. When I was born, there were fewer humans in the world than live in this village. After a while...I was the only one left."

"How...did it happen?" Her tone was a little hesitant, as if she was afraid of asking the question.

"There were monster attacks, and illnesses...people die. But everyone said the same thing before they passed on. 'The future is yours.'" I realized that Mog wasn't with us and that he was tailgating a cat of all things. Serah went to the cat's rescue.

"Snow! So this is where you got to. And the artefact...isn't here, huh?" She proceeded to pet the feline.

"Snow?" I looked at the cat with a very confused look.

"Oh, yeah, she's my pet. Yuj found her and brought her home." She told me the story, how the NORA members cheered her up by bringing in another furry companion to keep Serah company. "Even though they feel like a family to me but it's only a part of a family. It just doesn't feel whole without my sister, you know?"

"If it's what you really want, one day you'll be together again." I assured her and she smiled.

* * *

**A/N**: Terribly sorry for the lateness of chapters on any of my stories, especially this one. School has resumed once more and I'm finding this year to be as stressful as the last one. As you can tell, I won't be updating as quickly as I had hoped since there is a huge divot wedged within my leisure writing time, thanks to "real" work. So once again I apologize for slowness.


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